My son had his yearly physical today and the doctor asked how school was going and then proceeded to say homeschooling is not good for children it’s bad for their social and mental health said it makes children obese and then asked if we wanted to be referred for a psych evaluation. Anyone else deal with this type of behavior from their pediatrician?
Just got this set Cuisineart pans any tips for someone who is new to stainless cooking? I usually use cast iron.
Anyone else getting this error after logging into the VHIC portal? https://www.va.gov/accessva-tools-and-services/
This is my 4th windshield replacement on my 2026 Jetta under Volkswagen warranty and the dealership service manager and VW FOM say they can’t see anything however two of their service technicians said they do see it I have this in writing. This is a photo taken directly in front of me looking straight out the windshield. Is this acceptable? All of the glass has been OEM with VW logo from Saint Gobain-Sekrut. My case has been forwarded to VW customer care and the dealership said their hands are tied. 2
Retired 420A. I'm going to save one of you degenerates a couple decades of grief, so pay attention.
BLUF: One in five of you has high Lp(a). Get your Lp(a) tested and demand better LDL management.
I did everything right. Mostly vegetarian. Ran 15 miles a week. Never smoked, drank light, took my PT indoors when the AQI was garbage. Not a loud PT stud, just diligent. Every box, checked. My body is a temple.
My coronary calcium score just came back. My arteries are 72 years old. I'm 43.
Turns out you can eat like a rabbit and run like you're escaping the CSM's basement and still lose to your own genetics. But here's the part that should have you raising your White Monster in recognition of the system: it isn't really a genetics story, it's a malpractice story.
The first failure of common sense occurred when I was a private in Bavaria getting my pre-deployment physical. My LDL number came back high. Now, at the time I was a vegetarian hitting the gym twice a day. So a high cholesterol flag on me should've made someone go "huh, that's weird, let's look closer." High cholesterol with a maxed-out lifestyle isn't a discipline problem, no amount of shaving would move that number further. Which means it's genetic, and any provider doing the arithmetic would've caught it. Instead, the doc glances at it and tells me to eat more vegetables and exercise more. To the vegetarian…doing two-a-day. I literally looked at him and said "where exactly do you think I'm going to fit in more? Specifically?" (I was obviously destined for dots, lol.) Doesn't ask about family history. Doesn't flag it for follow-up. Just "eat better, drink water," and back to the deployment line I go. Promote that man ahead of peers.
And before you think that was a one-time TMC dud, it happened again and again. Year after year. In my early 30's, Kabul burn pits handed me an endocrine disorder that is known to drive arterial plaque. This time, I think, I'm finally going to get somewhere with my doctors. But no. Same story. Same "diet and exercise" prescription, to the annoyingly over educated, health-maxing Chief who now had a named condition raising her risk.
I read the medical journals, came armed, pushed for the right treatment. I even brought my husband to several of those appointments hoping that a man’s voice might be heard where mine simply wasn’t. That's where I was at. And it still didn't matter, I got the “lifestyle modification” prescription every time. Being informed and engaged wasn't enough.
So what were they all looking at instead of me? A tool called the 10-year cardiovascular risk calculator. You plug in a patient's numbers and it spits out their odds of a heart attack in the next ten years. Plug in a 25-year-old and the window runs to 35. Almost nobody has a heart attack by 35. Even you tornado-inhaling, pack-a-day, energy-drink-for-blood gamers are gonna clear that bar. So the risk comes back low for everybody, which means it's not telling you a damn thing about you. It's just telling you you're young. Meanwhile your arteries are stacking plaque like sandbags.
That calculator is worthless for anyone under 65. It's answering the wrong question. "Will you have a heart attack in the next ten years?" No, genius, I'm 25. Meanwhile my arteries were speedrunning to retirement age the whole time. It was only measuring whether I'd die soon enough to be the Army's problem.
Would you trust a dermatologist who said "don't worry about sunscreen private, your 10 year risk of melanoma is low"? No, you'd find yourself an actual doctor because that's DUMB (even if you are lazy about your sun protection, you at least know the risk you're taking). Same math for cholesterol. Damage is cumulative. Early is everything. They let my treatable number run for two decades because a calculator couldn't see past Friday's safety brief formation.
The recent update that can save YOU: it took until this year, 2026, for the American Heart Association to finally recommend testing Lp(a). A cheap, one-time blood test for one of the most common inherited heart risks, and the guideline geniuses got around to it in 2026. That inherited gremlin was jacking my LDL higher and laying down plaque in my arteries the whole time.
ONE IN FIVE OF YOU HAS IT. Look left, look right. If it isn't them, it's you, hidden behind a clean lifestyle and a good AFT. No amount of garlic supplements or gymbro tiktoks will save you. Hell, even statins can’t fix a high Lp(a). But what they can do is aggressively lower your LDL so you can keep your heart safe while they finish up testing the new drugs to target the Lp(a).
Here's the part where Chief explains how to beat the system:
Get the Lp(a) test, especially if you're scared. That's the workaround. This thing is stupidly manageable once you look at it. High number but young and clean: you stop it before the damage starts. Already built up like me: there's treatment that drives your LDL down and halts the progression, plus new drugs coming that target the genetic part directly. Stuff our grandparents' generation died without ever knowing they needed.
The only version of this that kills you is the one you never look at. I found out at 43, and I'm going to be fine, because now I'm armed. Find out at 25 and you’ll get to laugh at my ghost from your treadmill at 70.
The mission: ask for an Lp(a) test. Once in your life; it's genetic. If a provider tries to low-risk you off the 10-year calculator, push back. Family history counts. Maybe cite the r/Army Chief whose heart qualifies for its own shadowbox.
Get your number. Don't be me at 43, finding out my ticker's been drawing a pension this whole time.
I’ll take a Grilled chicken salad, no dressing. And an unsweet iced tea...gotta get those tannins.
Have a 25 Jetta and I am on my third warranty replacement OEM windshield all three have had this distortion directly in front of my driving line of sight. Anyone else experience this? The dealership thinks it’s a bad batch possibly something to do with a new manufacturer. But all 3 windshields have been Saint-Gobain VW OEM .
Bought this for my son, as an F1 fan I will say Hot Wheels really did a fantastic job with the F1 series.
Had an OEM windshield installed by the dealership under warranty, my vin is now 2/3 obstructed, the top of the windshield seems to have more of a gap as well. Is this something I should be concerned about? Also there seems to be more of a gap between the inner A pillar and the glass than before. Here is my vin left is the original right is the replacement sorry about the quality I had to pixelate my VIN.
Is it normal for Volkswagen dealerships to do OEM windshield replacements in-house?
I have a 2025 Volkswagen Jetta that is at the dealership for an OEM windshield replacement under warranty .
The service advisor told me the windshield was installed by one of their in-house technicians and said all of their mechanics are certified in glass replacement.
I have never heard of VW techs doing windshield replacement.
Anyone else suddenly missing Branch and Service dates from the Veteran Status Card in the app?
I am new to having high Lp(a) 43 m my level was 303nmol/L, I recently had a carotid ultrasound and it came back with no plaque visualized no stenosis interpretation normal carotid ultrasound. Is this an indirect re assuring sign or does it have no bearing to the health of my coronary arteries? I am scheduled for a CAC later this month.
Also I previously had an echocardiogram that showed no calcification of the aortic valves and was overall within normal limits.
I’m a 42 m. After finding out I have very high Lp(a) 303nmol/L I find myself constantly worrying about wether or not I will have a heart attack, I have to wait 2 more months to follow up with my cardiologist and am getting a CAC in a few weeks. I found out I have high Lp(a) back in January. I see a psychiatrist but it doesn’t seem to help. Also I don’t have a family history of early heart disease as far as I know because my parents died of un-natural causes in their early 40’s. Grandparents lived to old age without major heart conditions. Anyone else experience similar?
Anyone else notice the change to the VA.gov page when logging in? It no longer shows service information.
So I took my new 1.5L 4.5 qts Jetta to the dealer 2 days ago for the complementary oil change and happened to notice the dipstick is reading 1/2 inches over the upper limit I’ve been driving around for two days with it like this, I plan to take it to the dealer tomorrow to have it corrected, what are the chances anything got damaged in the engine? Also I noticed on the R/O it lists 5qts so I’m assuming they went over by a half a quart.
anyone else getting this message when trying to download medical reports right now?
Anyone still using these in 2026 ? I have yet to switch to ceramic on my vehicles they seem to work great I am always looking for new ways to improve, any recommendations on something better?
Had this happen this morning when I went to start the car, it would start up then immediately shut off it did this about 4 times before finally clearing and it’s been running fine since. I scanned it for codes and got a generic U0155. The only thing I can think of is I washed it really late last night and one of the calipers temporarily froze to the rotor I always set the parking brake when it’s parked. Anyone ever experience this?
While we’re at it I figured what the heck.
Just some I’ve gathered over the years.
